Titanfall Co-op Mode, Ranked Play Coming In Update 8

Titanfall's Update #8 will be the biggest one yet, according to Respawn. The studio revealed that the update will contain some major features, including the first-ever co-op mode for the game.

Frontier Defense mode is basically Titanfall's take on the Gears of War 2 Horde mode. Four players will defend objectives from waves of A.I. enemies. They can deploy turrets to assist their defense and change their loadout on the fly with supply crates. Any players who die will respawn in a dropship, allowing them to gun down enemies from the air before touching down.

"You and your team will face down familiar foes as well as the IMC's newest combat units: hordes of Grunts and Spectres, stealthy Sniper Spectres and Cloak Drones, explosive Suicide Spectres and Nuclear Titans, ranged Mortar Titans, and even melee-resistant Arc Titans!"

Every Titanfall map from the base game and expansions will support Frontier Defense mode. Players will be scored on their performance. Overachievers can seek to earn 3 Map Stars for each battleground.

Those Map Stars are another new feature in Update #8. You can earn up to 3 Stars per map in each game mode by hitting certain score requirements. There are 504 Stars in total to earn. Players will get new Insignias for their Titan by earning 30 stars in a given mode.

Players' performance will also be tracked through a new Ranked Play feature. Each player has a Rank Chip that levels up as you hit skill goals in multiplayer. This progression will unlock new icons for your character.

"If you don’t always feel like being monitored, the Rank Chip can be turned off and on at your convenience," says designer Mackey McCandlish. "Feeling hazy? Trying to squeeze in a match while you’re on the phone? Learning a new weapon? Don’t worry, just turn the Rank Chip off. It won’t mind. It’ll will be there when want it again. In fact, you can even activate your Rank Chip after the match starts."

Ranked Play will debut as a closed beta. Players who are Gen 10, or reach Gen 10 while the beta is underway, will get invites. They'll each get five invites to distribute to friends as well. Respawn says that they may open the test up to additional players over time, too.

Update #8 will also bring two more Featured Game Modes. "Deadly Ground" (coming November 5th) is a playlist of Hardpoint, CTF and Marked for Death maps with a twist: the floor is electrified. "Marked for Death Pro," coming November 26th, splits the Marked for Death mode into rounds.

The full list of changes for Update #8 can be found here. The patch is scheduled to arrive on October 23rd on Xbox One and PC.